Shattered Stones
by Miss Lilianae
Summary: After an event in the bubble room an old friend of the gems returns, accompanying Steven on his journey to find out who he is.
1. Stone Cold Meeting

Shattered Stones  
Chapter 1: Stone-Cold Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any of the characters involved except Amarl.

Steven slid down the tube of the Crystal Heart frantically panting in fear as he descended further into the tunnels. He began to slow and eventually stopped as the tube turned, he made sure together breakfast was ok before looking down into the room and seeing Garnet. She walked toward a pit of lava, broke Steven's phone and tossed the pieces into the pit, and then unfurling a scroll under her arm. She lowered it in with her gem magic and it screamed as it was lit aflame. Garnet then trapped the smoke in a bubble as Steven slid down off the tube. Amethyst and Pearl floated down next to him.

"Steven, we need to get out of here," Pearl whispered tugging on his sleeve.

"Yeah dude, we're not supposed to be here," Amethyst added.

"No, I've been trying all day to get everyone in the same place for together breakfast!" Steven shouted as he pulled away from Pearl, "Garnet! Are you ready to eat breakfast?"

Garnet gasped and the smoke fought against the edge of the bubble. She forced it back.

"Steven, you need to go,"

"Not without us eating together breakfast," Steven walked toward Garnet hoisting the plate of waffles, syrup, whipped cream, and popcorn.

"Steven!"

The bubble popped and the smoke billowed out into a large cloud forcing Garnet back. She slid to a stop and looked up as the smoke tried to find a way out through the ceiling.

"It's trying to escape, push it back!" Garnet shouted.

She summoned her gauntlets while Pearl and Amethyst jumped in with their weapons. Garnet punched the smoke forcing the tail into the ceiling and spreading it out further. As the smoke brushed against some of the bubbled gems it touched a purple bubble containing two gems that popped before being engulfed in smoke. Amethyst whipped some of the smoke away from Steven and Pearl stabbed it causing a shriek before it retreated into a large cloud. In an instant it sent a stream of smoke past the gems and into Steven's together breakfast, the force of the blow knocking him on his back.

The two gem shards hit the ground and a light began to emit from them.

"What's that?" Amethyst asked seeing the light.

"No time, we need to take care of the smoke first, it's taken on organic matter!" Pearl shouted as she charged at Together Breakfast.

It roared and erupted from Steven's plate forcing him fight back against its weight. With a large slam it sent Pearl flying into the wall with syrup and whipped cream.

"Be careful, it has all the powers of a breakfast!" Garnet shouted to Amethyst.

The light of the two gem pieces began to coalesce into a human form, and as the light faded it was a humanoid shape. The figure dropped to the floor and groaned loudly before slumping over.

Garnet slammed her gauntlet into Together Breakfast, but its gooey core absorbed her blow and the whipped cream began to crawl up her arm. Amethyst pulled her back and the two watched as Together Breakfast roared sending a giant waffle at them and slamming them both into the wall. It continue roaring as it swelled into an even larger size.

"Man, I wake up after who knows how long and it's in the middle of a fight," The gem figure said.

It stood revealing the look of a young man wearing a light green long-sleeve, flowing, half-top with a sea-foam green colored undershirt and pants that had different shades of darker green legs that met in the middle with a line. His hair was a dark green, almost black color.

"Hold on little one, I'm coming," He held out his right arm and light began to shine from it and a handle appeared, drawing it with his left hand the light faded to reveal a jade green sword and handle. The weapon itself was jagged and looked like it was ready to break.

In a second he was off, clasping the handle of the weapon in both hands he leapt into the air and swung cutting Together Breakfast in half and sending the top half into the lava pit. Steven took his chance and fought to stand.

"Enough! I don't care if you are the most important meal of the day! I made you to bring us together, not tear us apart!" Steven shouted as he fought the bottom half toward the pit and shoved it into the lava.

Together Breakfast roared defiantly once more before melting away into the pit. Garnet punched out one of the waffle squares before she and Amethyst climbed out. At the same time Pearl managed to rip herself free from the syrup and whipped cream mess. They all approached the lava pit panting with exhaustion.

"I'm sorry guys, I guess I dreamed too big," Steven said with sadness in his voice.

"So, mind telling me what's going on?" The figure asked as he approached and the sword disappeared.

The gems gasped as they turned to see him standing a few feet away, leaning to the right with his left hand resting on his hip.

"Emerald!" Pearl shouted.

He sighed, "Amarl, but close enough,"

"What are you doing here?" Garnet asked him.

"I was hoping you could tell me, apparently we're fighting organics now?" He asked walking over to where Pearl had been trapped and swiping some whipped cream into his mouth.

"Not bad,"

"That was a corrupted gem artifact, things got complicated," Garnet explained.

"I figured. Anyway, who's this?" Amarl walked back over to the lava pit and pointed at Steven.

"Oh right, you went missing before Rose and Greg did their thing," Amethyst stated.

"Missing? The last thing I remember was fighting off a gem monster," He held his head and tried to remember.

"Yes, after the fight Rose found your gem broken in two and bubbled you to keep you safe," Pearl explained.

"You guys didn't tell me?" Amethyst shouted.

"You were so young at the time, we didn't want you to see a shattered gem,"

"To be fair Emerald was already shattered long before I met Amethyst. What's this 'thing' Rose and Greg did?"

The trio looked at Steven who lifted his shirt revealing Rose's gemstone.

"Wait, you're telling me… that Rose reformed into _that_?"

"No, she gave up her form, she's gone. She and Greg… they made Steven," Pearl explained.

As he heard Pearl say Rose was gone Amarl's eyes went wide and he took a step back, "Gone?"

They nodded.

"I… I see… well…" He slumped down and looked at the floor.

Steven walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hi, my name is Steven, I hate to ask this but, who are you?"

Amarl looked up at him as he spoke.

"My name is Amarl… I… knew your mom and your dad,"

"You know dad? I bet he'll be happy to see you if it's been that long," Steven said with a smile.

"Greg's alive!?" Amarl asked excitedly.

"Yeah, he lives here in Beach City. He runs a car wash,"

"I have to see him, please, take me to him," He picked Steven up as his face broke out into a grin.

"Yeah, sure,"

A short while later the gems, Amarl, and Steven exited the temple. Once they were through the door Amarl and Steven took off to go talk to Greg.

"I wonder how he's still alive after all these years," Pearl said to Garnet.

"And that he looks the same," She replied.

"I guess there's a lot we still don't know about him," Pearl said sadly as she lifted her hand to her chin.

Meanwhile Steven and Amarl were running through the streets of Beach City until they made it to the car wash. Amarl stopped when he saw Greg's long, flowing hair. He was panting with Steven when Greg turned toward them. He was smiling before seeing Amarl, in surprise he dropped the hose he was holding.

"Amarl? Is that you?" Greg asked.

"Yeah… dad… it's me," Amarl rushed over and gave Greg a hug, beginning to cry.

"Dad?!" Steven shouted in surprise.

"Well, that's a long story Stuball, I'll have to explain it now though," Greg said with a smile as he patted his hand on Amarl's back.


	2. Figuring Things Out

Shattered Stones  
Chapter 2: Figuring Things Out

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any of the characters involved except Amarl

Steven, Greg, and Amarl were sitting in the back of Greg's van as he handed Steven a drink.

"So, why do you call my dad, dad?" Steven asked Amarl.

He looked to Greg.

"Y'see, when your mom and I first met Amarl was still really young, and he didn't exactly have a father figure growing up with the gems. I took him under my wing, taught him everything I know, we agreed that it would be good practice so I was ready to handle you when you were born," Greg took Amarl under his arm and rubbed his fist into his head as he spoke.

"Because of that, I ended up calling Greg dad. It was a force of habit," Amarl managed to wrestle free and shrugged as he finished.

"That makes sense," Steven nodded before taking a drink.

"Where have you been all these years?" Greg asked Amarl.

"In the temple, I guess after a fight Rose thought I'd been shattered and she kept my halves to try and revive me," Amarl explained.

"I remember them coming back without you, they told me you'd died,"

Steven looked at Amarl's arms and realized that his gem was two half rectangles and that each was split down the middle lengthwise and infused into his forearms.

"Amarl, why is your gem like that?" Steven asked.

Amarl looked down at the gem in his arm before sighing.

"It's a long story,"

Steven smiled as he made himself comfortable.

"You shouldn't have told him that," Greg said with a grin.

Amarl sighed again, "Alright. A long time ago, during the great rebellion of Rose Quartz. Humanity was being defended by the Crystal Gems, at the time, our weapons were no match for the Gem Tech, and we were hiding from them as Rose and her army fought to protect us. I was young, and really dumb, I ran away from home with a spear in hand and went to help. I talked to Rose but she refused my aid because she didn't want to see me get hurt. I didn't listen and snuck onto the battlefield, but she was right. I was no match for even the lowest Ruby soldier, and soon I was captured and brought aboard one of the diamond's ships…" Amarl stopped as he stared down into his gem.

"What happened next?" Steven leaned forward, he was hanging on Amarl's every word.

"I'd rather not say, it's hard to talk about," Amarl told him.

Steven realized that his demeanor had changed, and he sat back down in his spot.

"After that, I reunited with Rose when she broke into the ship, and she took me under her wing and tried to figure out how to 'fix' me. I've been a member of the Crystal Gems ever since. Eventually when Rose met your dad we developed our father-son relationship and then… that was it. I got poofed one day and was trapped in the temple ever since. I guess I take a lot longer to regenerate than other gems,"

"They didn't think you'd regenerate at all," Greg told him.

"Yeah, that makes sense,"

Amarl was quiet for a moment before he shook his head, "Enough dwelling on the past! I'm back now, and I want to see how the world has changed these last few years,"

Steven grinned at his excitement, "C'mon, I know just the way to show you,"

Steven led Amarl out of the van and down the street, the pair waved good bye to Greg as they left. They stopped in front of the fry shack and Steven happily told Mr. Fryman to give him the bits. After a few lines of chanting Amarl joined in, not fully understand what the bits were. After a minute Mr. Fryman agreed and he poured out a few random bits of fried food into a bag and gave it to Steven.

"Thanks!" He said as he walked away with Amarl.

He reached into the bag and put one in his mouth, "What are these?" he asked.

"Fry bits," Steven answered, "Can you… taste them?" He stopped as he the thought dawned on him.

"Of course I can taste them, why wouldn't I?"

"Well, it's just, Amethyst doesn't seem to taste what she eats, since she eats a lot of weird stuff,"

"Well, don't forget I was human at one point, I still have my taste buds," He said as he popped another fry bit in his mouth.

"I was also curious, how do you… summon your gem weapon?"

Amarl looked down at Steven as he asked, his right arm began to glow as he reached over with his left hand and pulled out the same jagged blade he'd produced before.

"Real simple," He explained before shouldering it.

"Oh, I was hoping you had some advice on how," Steven told him.

Amarl looked confused for a minute before realization dawned on him, "You can't summon your weapon?"

Steven shook his head. Amarl frowned slightly before planting his blade in the sand and using it as a support.

"Well, your mom's weapon was a shield, so maybe it has something to do with protecting people? I know my sword appears when I feel violent or want to fight,"

Steven thought about it for a moment. "Yeah… that makes sense!"

Amarl smiled as he pulled the sword out of the sand and dismissed it into his gem. "We'll have to get some practice in once you summon it,"

"Yeah!" Steven smiled as he continued their walk back to the house.

"So, is there anything else I've missed?" Amarl asked as they turned the corner.

"Not really, if you were around for when mom met dad you already know about the corrupted gems, and what the gems have been pretty much doing the last twelve years, aside from raising me,"

"Twelve years and they're still trying to bubble the corrupted gems?" Amarl asked.

Steven nodded. "So long, although I suppose when you're immortal time seems to pass so much slower,"

"What about you… how old are you?"

Amarl considered the prospect for a moment, "If I can add this up correctly… I'm somewhere around one-thousand and 18 years old,"

"No way!"

Amarl nodded, "After the war my body… stopped. That's the best way I can describe it, I'm the same today as I was a thousand years ago. Anyway, we better get back or else the gems are going to be worried about us,"

"What do you mean?"

"I used to sneak off all the time when I first became a gem and Rose always got so worried about me. It was almost like she was my mom,"

"Well, if you think my dad is your dad, and my mom was your mom, would that mean we're like brothers?"

Amarl considered the question for a few seconds. "Yeah, I suppose it would. In that case, race you home little bro!"

Amarl noggied Steven before taking off down the beach toward the house.

Steven smiled "Not fair!" he shouted before running off after him. The two raced down the beach but Amarl won out as he arrived at the door first. He waited for Steven though before they walked in.

"Ah, Amarl, you're back," Garnet said as she and the other gems were waiting in the small kitchen.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"We need to talk," She told him, her tone was serious.

Amarl, who had a smile on his face from his sprint against Steven, frowned.

"Everything ok?"

"We want to make sure of that," Pearl added.

Garnet and Pearl stood up from the benches and walked over to the temple door. Garnet lit her gems in the doorway and it opened. Amarl looked down at Steven before smiling slightly and walking through. Steven went to follow but Amethyst stopped him.

"You better wait out here," She told him.

"But, what's going to happen to Amarl?"

"Nothing bad is going to happen Steven, we just need to talk," Pearl told him as Amarl passed her and entered the doorway.

She followed him a moment later and the door closed.


	3. Truth Revealed

Shattered Stones  
Chapter 3: Truth Revealed

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any of the characters involved except Amarl

A door opened in a large, open space inside the temple. Platforms of cascading water made up the only solid ground. Garnet, Pearl, and Amarl walked through door and it closed behind them. Pearl lifted her hand and three chairs appeared nearby.

"Perhaps we should sit down and talk this all out," She said to the pair.

They followed Pearl over to the chairs and sat down. Garnet put her fingers together over her knees and turned to Amarl, his face reflected in her visor.

"What do you remember last?" She asked him.

Amarl looked down at the watery floor beneath his feet and considered her question. "We were fighting… a corrupted gem, in the strawberry fields. I… took a hit to the chest and then everything went dark. I woke up a few times, in a strange white room filled with doors, but I was only ever able to open a few, and they seemed to lead to more empty white space. That was how it went until I woke up in the temple fighting that breakfast monster with you guys this morning,"

"Tell us more about this white room," Pearl said as she crossed her legs and rested her arm on them, she used her hand to support her chin as she stared at Amarl intently.

"I… I don't know. All I remember is a long line of doors. Like I said I… opened a few but they didn't go anywhere, just… empty white space… but that's not the weirdest part of it all,"

The two looked at each other then back at Amarl. "What was?"

He looked up and met their gaze "I was me again,"

Meanwhile, outside with Steven and Amethyst. Steven was pacing around the kitchen while Amethyst ate some popcorn out of a bowl.

"Relax will ya, they're not gonna bubble him again," Amethyst said as she watched Steven pace back and forth.

"Yeah, I know, but it's still really weird… how come you guys never told me about Amarl?"

Amethyst swallowed the fistful of popcorn she had just put in her mouth and then set the bowl down before jumping off the counter.

"We didn't think it mattered. He was… different, I was still really young at the time so I don't fully understand everything, but from what Garnet and Pearl have told me Amarl was made from a Diamond experiment during the war with your mom. He's not like normal gems and he's not human either. When Rose rescued him and took him in we weren't sure how to treat him or how his powers worked… apparently from what I remember he was poofed during a battle with a corrupted gem, and as you may have noticed his gem is in two pieces. When Rose found him like that she assumed he'd been shattered, sliced in half. She bubbled him to hopefully find a way to restore his body, thinking that maybe because he was different he could be revived. All these years later and Rose is gone, things have changed. We're not the Crystal Gems he's used to,"

"Wow… I…" Steven looked down at the ground and clenched his fists.

"Amethyst, I need your help. I need to talk to Amarl,"

"Just wait until he comes back out with Pearl and Garnet," She said off-handedly.

"No, I need to speak with him as soon as I can, I want to know all I can about him so I can help him,"

"Help who Steven?" Pearl asked as the door to the temple opened, she was standing there with Garnet and Amarl whose eyes were cast in shadow, he seemed… different.

Back in the temple, before Steven and Amethyst spoke.

"What do you mean, you were you again?" Garnet asked.

"I wasn't… this," Amarl his right hand on his arm over the gem.

"I was me, from all those years ago. No gem, no strange clothes… just… me,"

Pearl looked to Garnet who had put her hand on her chin as she spoke.

"Perhaps we should save this for another time, Steven is likely concerned about this, the way we pulled Amarl away," Pearl offered.

"Yes, we should go back," Garnet stood and was soon followed by Pearl and Amarl. As they made their way toward the door the chairs they'd been sitting on disappeared back into the water and the door opened.

"No, I need to speak with him as soon as I can, I want to know all I can about him so I can help him,"

"Help who Steven?" Pearl asked as she and the others exited the temple.

Steven looked over at Pearl and the rest and he noticed Amarl.

"Amarl!" He shouted as he ran over.

The young gem lifted his head and seemed to regain some of his composure, "What's up?" he asked as Steven ran over to him.

"We need to talk. I know it's hard for you, but I want to know everything about you. Who you were, what it was like growing up… what it was like being in the war,"

"Steven… those are some… pretty heavy conversation topics, maybe one at a time?"

Steven shook his head, "I know you're not like other gems, and I want to know about you, so I can help you,"

Amarl looked to Garnet and Pearl who shrugged. He sighed and looked back down at Steven, "Alright. You wanna know everything there is to know about me? Fine, let's start with the most important thing: I'm not a gem like the others, you guessed that much already. From what I understand of gem culture, from what the others have told me, Gems are created in a place called a Kindergarten. I was made onboard a Diamond Warship,"

Amarl's mind flashed back to the scene.

"I had snuck onto the battlefield and engaged a Ruby soldier from behind. She was stronger than me, by a longshot. I was defeated, captured, and brought before the Diamonds. Yellow wanted me executed, but as they were debating on the decision a report had come in that an exceptional Emerald captain had been shot down by the rebel forces. The Emerald was in critical condition, her gem had been sliced in half in the wreckage of her ship and she was barely holding together. Blue Diamond then proposed an experiment: To save the Emerald's life they'd give up mine. I was taken to a lab and the Emerald was brought in beside me. Our eyes met for only a moment before they put me under. I woke up a few hours later inside a tent with Garnet standing over me keeping watch. I stood up and felt the gems in my arms… the Emerald was gone, and I was changed. I was no longer Ama of the north mountains… I was Amarl,"

Amarl's mind came back to the present and he saw Steven was looking at him with concern.

"Amarl…I mean… Ama?"

He chuckled, "Amarl is fine, it's who I am now,"

He knelt down and ruffled Steven's hair, "It's who I'm going to be from here on,"


	4. First Mission

Shattered Stones  
Chapter 4: First Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any of the characters involved except Amarl

Steven awoke and stared at the ceiling for a minute before crawling out of bed. Looking around he spotted Amarl passed out on the couch, not wanting to wake him he quietly tip-toed across the room and made himself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Steven had just sat down at the kitchen counter and went to spoon some cereal in his mouth when Amarl lurch from bed with a shout.

"No!"

The two were frozen for a moment, Steven in shock and Amarl in panic. Eventually they both relaxed and Steven looked at Amarl with concern.

"Did you have a bad dream?" He asked.

Amarl, for the first time, noticed Steven sitting across the house from him. He sighed.

"Yeah, you could say that," Lifting a hand over his face and covering one of his eyes.

"Want to talk about it?" Steven asked him.

"I'm alright, where are the gems?" he asked.

Steven looked to the temple door and Amarl followed his gaze. "That figures,"

"So… want to eat some breakfast?"

Amarl looked up at Steven and sighed before standing up from the couch. He walked across the house and got himself a bowl of cereal, joining Steven on the next stool over the two began to quietly eat. After their meal Steven went about getting ready for the day by changing and brushing his teeth. Once that was done the two sat in the living unsure of what to do next.

"Are they normally in the temple this long?" Amarl asked.

"Not usually, something must be up," Steven told him.

As if on que the door opened to reveal Garnet. She stepped out followed by Pearl, then Amethyst.

"Steven, we're going on a mission today," Garnet told him.

"Awesome! What are we doing?" He asked as he leapt up from the couch.

"I'm going to pursue a corrupted gem known as the Earth beetle, you Amarl, Pearl, and Amethyst are going to go after it's sibling gem, the Heaven beetle,"

"Are you sure you'll be ok alone?" Amarl asked as he and Steven walked closer.

Garnet nodded, "The Earth beetle is in the middle of a volcano, and I'm the only one here with enough heat resistance to not be burned alive,"

Amarl shrugged, "Alright, let's get going,"

Garnet nodded and stepped onto the teleporter pad before disappearing. Pearl looked to Steven and Amarl.

"Alright Steven, I want you to stay behind us alright? I don't need anything happening to you,"

"I know Pearl! I'll be careful!" Steven said with a smile.

The team stepped onto the teleporter pad and instantly they were transported to a floating rock in the sky. Looking around they saw nothing but clouds below and more floating rocks with bridges tethering them together.

"What is this place?" Steven asked.

"It's an old relic from the gem war, but we don't have time for that, we're here for the beetle, let's go," Pearl said leading the way across one of the bridges.

The group traveled for some time before eventually arriving at the top of one of the largest rocks. As they made their way up a spiraling ramp they eventually found themselves inside a small shelter that led out onto a platform that was surrounded by water.

"Is that it?" Amarl asked.

"Yes, Garnet said that there would be a small shrine for the beetle around here, that must be it," Pearl answered as she approached.

Steven giddily followed her and the two looked down into the shrine. Meanwhile Amethyst started leaning against the doorway of the shrine's entrance. She seemed disinterested and overall her mood was sour, Amarl frowned as Pearl and Steven approached.

"Where's the beetle?" He asked.

"That's just it, it isn't where it's supposed to be?" Pearl replied.

"So then where could it be?" Amarl asked.

"I don't know! It could be anywhere! It shouldn't have a reason to run off like this, it should be right there," Pearl began to panic a little as she frantically gestured toward the shrine.

"Why don't you scream about it some more, that'll help us find it for sure," Amethyst said off-handedly.

"Are you okay?" Amarl asked her.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, listening to Pearl squawk about this beetle is definitely how I wanted to spend my day today," Amethyst replied.

"You don't sound ok…" Amarl continued.

"Well it doesn't matter what you wanted to do today, our mission is to find and secure the Heaven Beetle, and it doesn't help that you're over here doing nothing!" Pearl shouted at her.

"Hey! That's not nice!" Steven replied as he stepped between Pearl and Amethyst.

"Well she isn't helping! We need everyone on board if we're going to fi-"

"What's that?" Amarl cut Pearl off and pointed as a large shadow descended over them.

A large, bird-like creature that was mainly comprised of a beak was now floating in the air above them. It roared loudly before diving toward them.

"Move!" Amarl shouted as the team dashed back into the shrine. The beast slammed into the ground and tried to force it's large beak through the doorway, but could only manage it part-way before getting stuck. It then pulled its beak free and lifted into the air again, circling overhead.

"Great! Now we're trapped here!" Pearl shouted despairingly.

"What about Opal? Maybe she could help us out," Amarl offered.

"Opal? Who's that?" Steven asked.

Amethyst and Pearl looked at each other before both turned their heads away haughtily which made Amarl sigh.

"Fine, I don't know what's gotten into you two over the last few years but if you can't form Opal I'll take care of it," he said before drawing his sword and stepping out to face the bird.

"Amarl! Wait!" Steven shouted as he followed.

"Stay inside Steven, this will only take a minute," he said cockily before readying his sword with a two-handed grip.

The bird creature drifted some distance away before turning back toward the shrine. Amarl started running down the pathway toward the Heaven Beetle's shrine before leaping into the air, lifting his sword above his head he let out a battle-cry before the bird slammed its beak shut around him.

"Amarl!" Steven shouted.

The two gems looked surprised then rushed over to the doorway and watched as the bird creature flew away.

"What happened?" Pearl asked.

"Amarl went to attack that thing but then it ate him!" Steven shouted.

Pearl frowned before looking to Amethyst.

"Come on, we need to form Opal,"

Amethyst nodded and the two made their way back inside the shelter, while Steven followed a few feet behind them with a confused look on his face.

"You guys still haven't told me who Opal is yet,"


End file.
